Slingshot gun



May 24, 1955 E. A. HURLBURT SLINGSHOT GUN Filed Sept. 4, 1951 United States Patent 2,708,924 SLINGSHOT GUN Edwin A. Hurlburt, Napa, Calif. Application September 4, 1951, Serial No. 244,932 3 Claims. (Cl. 124-17) This invention relates to devices in the nature of slingshots for projecting missiles, and is particularly directed to a device of this character which is incorporated in a gun similar in appearance and operation to a conventional rie.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sling- 'shot gun which may be aimed and actuated by a trigger mechanism as in a conventional rie, and which is capable of extreme accuracy heretofore unobtainable in slingshot devices.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the character described which utilizes a novel mechanism for retaining the resilient projectile band in a stretched condition, and which is arranged to readily release the band upon normal actuation of the trigger.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device of the above type in' which the band holding mechanism may be simply and readily placed into cocked position for receiving the band.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a Slingshot gun of the above character in which improved means are utilized for securing the free ends of the projectile band to portions of the gun, whereby the danger of accidental release thereof is substantially eliminated, and the normal wear of the band at the points of connection is greatly reduced.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above type in which means are provided for vastly improving the safety in using devices of this nature, and yet which will not otherwise interfere with the normal use and operation of the gun.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a Slingshot gun which is simple, inexpensive, and compact in construction, which may be easily disassembled for ready inspection or repair, and in which the parts are so designed and arranged that the device will be maintained in proper operative condition indelinitely without requiring any particular attention or care.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawing:

Figure l is a perspective view of my new Slingshot gun.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the gun, portions of the drawing being broken away to more clearly illustrate the details of internal construction.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated by the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the trigger mechanism.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of one of the projectile band mounting devices.

The gun of the present invention is desirably in the form of a conventional rifle having a shoulder stock 11 and an extension 12 which is constructed in the general appearance of a rie barrel, except that no bore need be provided therein.

An extensible, elastic band 13 is provided for forcibly hurling a projectile, such as a spherical pellet 14, and as in the case of the usual sling shot, the free ends of the band are spaced apart and secured to some structure, and by positioning the projectile adjacent a medial portion of the band and pulling back on the latter, subsequent release of the band will cause the projectile to shoot between the xed band ends and towards the sighted target. The free ends 16 and 17 of the band 13 are arranged to be secured adjacent the distal end 18 of the rifle barrel in a manner which will insure a simple positive connection without imposing any severe wearing strain which would tend to cause the separation of the band from the barrel. As here shown, a front band mount, generally indicated by the numeral 19, is secured to the barrel end 18, and is adapted to provide spaced supports for the band ends 16 and 17. The mount 19 includes a metal base strip 21 which may be secured to the barrel end 18 by means of screws 22 or the like, strips 23 and 24 extending vertically from opposite ends of the base strip, and a top strip 26 disposed generally parallel to the base strip and interconnecting the ends of the strips 23 and 24. The band ends 16 and 17 are releasably secured to the outer surfaces of strips 23 and 24 respectively by means of plates 27 connected to such strips by suitable screws 28 and nuts 29. It is believed clear that each band end is inserted between the strip and plate, and by drawing the same together, the band will be securely and frictionally held therebetween. Preferably, and as disclosed in Figure 5, the aforesaid end portions of the band are of a double thickness so as to provide looped ends for the bands. In this manner, after the band ends are placed between the vertical strips and plates, with the looped end extending forwardly of the same, a locking pin 31 may be inserted in the loop, and as the band is stretched, preparatory to shooting, the pin will merely be drawn towards the front edge of the plate, but is of a sutlicient diameter, to prevent its being pulled between the strip and plate.

As will be understood, the projectile 14 is placed adjacent the medial band portion 32, and this portion is manually drawn back over the top of the barrel 12. By releasing the stretched band, the projectile will be hurled between the strips comprising the front mount 19 with a velocity depending on the strength of the band and the amount of pull imposed on the band.

Means are provided for retaining the medial band portion and the projectile in a pulled position so that the user may properly sight in on a target and effect release of the band by a simple pull of a trigger as in a conventional rifle. To accommodate the mechanism for accomplishing the foregoing, the barrel 12 is provided with a bore 33 extending from the upper to the lower surface thereof. A plate 34 forms a lower closure for the bore and is secured to barrel by means of screws 36 or the like engageable with the barrel. Extending vertically upwardly from the plate, and secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as welding, area pair of lugs 37 and 38 spaced apart on the longitudinal axis of the device. A pivot pin 39, disposed generally parallel to the plate 34, is mounted on the lugs, and may be provided in a simple manner by providing a bolt extending through aligned apertures in the lugs and fixed therein by means of a nut 42. Journaled in the pin 39 is a hinge-like member 43 which includes a pair of generally vertically extending plates 44 and 46. These plates may be moved from positions wherein the opposing surfaces thereof are substantially contiguous to positions wherein the plates are considerably separated, and as will be later explained, it is these two positions of the plates which effect the retention and release of the exed projectile band 13. A generally rectangular cut-out portion 47 is provided adjacent the rear edge of each plate, and the upper edges of the plates are preferably outwardly ared as is best seen in Figure l.

The plates 44 and 46, when in their relatively closed position are arranged to receive the medial band portion and projectile by sliding the band between the plates with the projectile disposed adjacent the rear edges of the plates. As will be understood, with the band and projectile in this position, a sudden opening of the plates transversely to the longitudinal axis of the rille will release the band and shoot the projectile with a considerable force. To lock the plates in their closed or cocked position, a lever 4S pivotally mounted in a notched portion 49 of lug 37 by means of a pin Sil or the like is utilized. This lever extends forwardly of the lug 37 and has a distal end portion provided with transverse members 52, the upper surface of which having a center portion 53 substantially coplanar with the upper edge of the lever and spaced arcuate surfaces S4 which extend to the upper spaced surfaces 56 of the member, these latter surfaces being positioned above the plane of the portion 53. The members 52 are positioned within the cut-out portions 47 of the plates, with the upper edges 57 of such portions being positioned adjacent the member portion 53 when the plates are in closed position. position, the steps formed by surfaces 54 will prevent relative separation of the plates, and in this manner, regardless of the forces imposed on the plates by the band 13, the plates will be maintained in a locked, but cocked position.

To open the plates and release the band and projectile, I

a trigger element 5S is provided which is formed as a depending extension from the rear end of lever 43. The distal end of the trigger extends through a suitable slot 59 provided in the plate 34 and arranged for manual actuation within a trigger guard 61. posed between the trigger and the lug 37 which normally urges the trigger forwardly and consequently effects the positioning of member 52 within the cutout portions 47 of the plates so as to cock the plates. By pulling rearwardly on the trigger, as indicated by the dot-dash lines of Figure 2, the lever 48 will pivot about the pin 51 and the members 52 will be moved downwardly and out of engagement with the plates 44 and 46, the latter then being free to spread apart under the force imposed thereon by the stretched band and projectile. After actuating the trigger, the edges 57 of the plates will be disposed adjacent the member surfaces S6, and obviously the spring tension will not be sufficient to move the plates back to their cocked position. To do so, it is only necessary to push the plates together, for as soon as the edges 57 are disposed over the member surface 53, the spring action will urge the lever upwardly with the resultant cocking of the plates for again receiving the band and a projectile. To enclose the upper portion of the bore 33, a closure plate 63 is screwed or otherwise ahxed to the barrel, and is provided with a suitable opening 64 through which the ends of plates 44 and 46 extend for receiving the band.

ln apparatus of this general nature, there has always been the danger of having the band suddenly break when in a flexed condition and possibly ily backwards and strike the person using the device. Particularly when in the form of a rifle. the band could seriously injure the eye or other parts of the users face. l therefore deem it advisable to provide some means intermediate the band and face of the user for intercepting the band in case of accidental breaking of the latter. Such means may include a channel-shaped member 66 opening towards the front of the device and preferably pivotally supported on the plate 63 so as to remove the same from the vicinity of the plates 44 and 46 when loading the gun. lt will be seen that the member substantially encloses the plates, except in a forward direction, and even in the event of band breakage, no injury would result to the user. The pivotal support may include a simple hinge having one portion 67 secured to the rear end of closure plate 63 and another' portion 6?? extending forwardly from the hinge pin 69 and provided with a leg 7l secured to the rear surface of the member '36. The positioning of the hinge is such that when the guard is opened, it will be So long as the lever remains in this A spring 62 is dis- -1 lll Lll)

disposed partially in the notched portion 7l formed at the juncture of the stock and barrel of the rifle.

Normally, sling shots are not capable of particularly accurate shooting due to the lack of proper sighting elements which are provided on conventional guns. ln the device of the present invention, the rear portion of guard 66 may be provided with a tl-shaped notch 72 to function as a rear sight, while a projection 73 may be mounted on the upper surface of front mount strip to serve as the front sight. By sighting along the two sights, the gun is capable of extreme accuracy and may thus be used for target practice or for shooting at small game targets.

l claim:

l. ln a sling shot rile, an elastic band having end portions arranged to be secured adjacent the front end of said rifle and a medial portion against which a projectile may be placed, means for securing said end portions to said rifle, means for releasably holding said medial band portion and a projectile in a stretched condition of the band including a pair of members extending above the surface of said rifle, said members being pivotally mounted a cent the bases thereof on an axis extending longitudn ally of said riiie, means engageable with said members for restricting the pivotal movement thereof from each other, means normally urging said last named means into said et gement, and trigger means operatively connected with said engageable means for moving same out of engagement with said members.

2. En a sling shot rifle having an elastic band and means for securing the ends of said band in transversely spaced relation adjacent the front of the rifle, a trigger mechanism for reicasably retaining a missile and a medial portion of said band in a flexed position comprising, a pair of vertically extending lugs spaced longitudinally within said fiile, a pivot pin extending between and supported by said lugs, a hinge-like member pivotally mounted on said pin and including a pair of plates extending upwardly from the pin whereby the upper ends of the plates may be moved selectively towards and from each other for releasably retaining the said missile and medial portion of said band, a lever pivotally mounted on one of said lugs and having cam portions adjacent an end thereof, said earn portions being engageable with portions of said plates in one position of said lever so as to prevent relative outward movement of the plates, and said cam portions being free of said plates in another' position of said lever so as to permit said outward movement of the plates, said lever including a manually operable trigger for moving said lever to said two positions, and means normally urging said cam portion into engagement with the plates.

3. A Slingshot gun comprising a barrel portion, an elastic band having its ends secured to the outer end of the barrel portion in transversely spaced relation, a pair of upright members pivotally mounted for movement to and from each other transversely of the gun axis and arranged to hold therebetween opposed medial portions of said band, a trigger member pivotally mounted for movement about an axis transverse of the gun and having adjacent an end thereof transversely opposed relatively short projections arranged to releasably engage the outer sides of said upright members to prevent outward displacement thereof, the relationship of the pivotal axes of said trigger and upright members and the engagement of said projections with such members being such that said upright members will be held against any substantial movement during movement of the trigger while the projections remain engaged with the upright members.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 437,605 Kelly Sept. 30, 189() 1,072,988 Pratt et al Sept. 9, 1913 1,687,757 Fry Oct. 16, 1928 l,832,340 Williams Nov. 17, 1931 2.289,49() Fisher July 4, 1942 

